Aomori
31 OCT – 3 NOV · 3 NIGHTS · BASE 1 OF 5
Aomori City is the northernmost prefectural capital on Honshu, Japan's main island. It was historically a key ferry departure point to Hokkaido, a role that faded after the Seikan Undersea Tunnel opened and budget airlines took over — today it's best known internationally for hosting the Nebuta Matsuri, a summer festival of huge illuminated lantern floats.
Where you're staying
APA Hotel Aomori-Eki Kencho-Dori アパホテル〈青森駅県庁通〉
- Address
- 2-6-6 Yasukata, Aomori-shi, Aomori 030-0803
〒030-0803 青森県青森市安方2丁目6-6 - Check-in
- from 1500
- Check-out
- by 1000
- Cost
- ¥31,975 (S$259.72, booked via Agoda)
- Paid by
- UOB VS
- Phone
- +81 17-775-8811 (front desk; central reservations 0570-092-911)
- Luggage
- Main bags forward ahead to Sendai from here — not carried through the Nyuto Onsen leg.
- Map
- Open in Google Maps ↗
What to see
See the full trip map ↗Nebuta Museum WA RASSE
- 5 real festival floats from past Nebuta Matsuri parades, on display up close and rotated yearly.
- Weekend/holiday Haneto dancer performances with live taiko drums and flutes.
- Distinctive red-slatted waterfront building, ~5 min walk from Aomori Station.
Aomori Bay Bridge
- Cable-stayed bridge whose tower and cables form the letter "A" for Aomori.
- Total span ~1,219–1,290m, opened to full traffic July 1994, cost ~¥27 billion.
- Walkway near A-FACTORY looks out toward ASPAM and the retired Hakkoda-maru ferry.
- A separate promenade below, "Aomori Love Bridge," connects to Aoiumi Park — a known local date spot.
A-FACTORY
- Onsite cidre (hard apple cider) factory — watch production through glass windows.
- Tasting cards let you sample sweet (3%), standard (5%), and dry (7%) cidre.
- All made from Aomori's own apples — Japan's largest apple-producing prefecture.
- ~1 min walk from Aomori Station; opened Dec 2010 alongside the Shinkansen's extension here.
Sannai-Maruyama Site
- Japan's largest, best-preserved Jomon-period village site — over 700 excavated structures.
- Discovered by accident during a land survey for a baseball field.
- UNESCO World Heritage since 2021, part of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan.
- Reconstructed pit dwellings, long houses, and a large tower stand atop the reburied original site.
- Entry is through the Jomon Jiyukan visitor center — its Jomon Theater and Sanmaru Museum (~1,700 artifacts) include the "Jomon Big Wall," an 18m×6m wall made from ~5,120 collected earthenware pieces.
Aomori Museum of Art
- White trench-cut building designed to echo the neighboring Sannai-Maruyama dig site.
- Three huge Marc Chagall ballet-backdrop paintings, shown in a room with 19m ceilings.
- Nara Yoshitomo's 8.5m-tall "Aomori-Ken" dog statue, plus Munakata Shiko woodblock works.
Otemon Square — Hirosaki
- Built 1990 for Hirosaki's 100th city anniversary, facing the castle's main gate.
- Includes the 1907 former city library, a Western-style building still open to visitors.
- Small exhibit on local handicrafts and the Neputa Festival, with floats on display.
Hirosaki Castle — Hirosaki
keep interior expected closed to the public
- Original keep rebuilt 1810 after a 1627 lightning fire — the only Tohoku keep never rebuilt in the modern era.
- Since 2013 the keep sits ~70m from its original spot for foundation repairs, with a move back scheduled Jul–Nov 2026 — may be underway during this visit.
- The keep interior is expected to remain closed to the public (reported closed for renovation into the early 2030s) — this visit is for the exterior, grounds, and garden.
Neputa Village — Hirosaki
- Illuminated Neputa Matsuri floats on display — the festival itself runs Aug 1–7 each year.
- Also holds shamisen, local handicraft, and vintage toy exhibits.
- Includes a 19th-century Japanese garden and a traditional teahouse on-site.
Hirosaki Castle Chrysanthemum & Autumn Foliage Festival — Hirosaki
- Over 1,100 maple trees and 2,600 cherry trees in the park provide the autumn-color backdrop.
- "Hanawa Kuguri" flower-ring walkthrough plus over 5,000 yarn "Pom Pom Mum" displays in Sannomaru Garden.
- Evening program adds bamboo-light illumination and projection mapping on top of the daytime displays.
Oirase Gorge (Ishigedo → Nenokuchi) — Lake Towada
- Trail runs the scenic upper stretch between Nenokuchi and Ishigedo, ~9km one-way, about 2.5 hours to walk.
- The sole outlet stream draining Lake Towada, lined with over a dozen waterfalls cascading from the gorge walls.
- A road runs alongside/crisscrosses the trail for much of the route — not fully secluded, but closed to cars on certain peak-autumn days.
Lake Towada Sightseeing Cruise — Lake Towada
- Lake Towada is Honshu's largest caldera lake, with two large peninsulas extending nearly a third of the way across it.
- The peninsulas are hard to appreciate from shore — the sightseeing boat is the best way to see them.
- Nenokuchi→Yasumiya and Yasumiya→Nenokuchi routes each run a handful of times a day; check the current timetable before planning around a specific departure.
Towada Visitor Center — Lake Towada
- Yasumiya is the only developed area on Lake Towada's largely undeveloped shoreline, and this is its information hub.
- Small nature museum covering the lake's formation (a volcanic caldera) and surrounding ecology.
- Starting point for exploring Yasumiya on foot — Towada Shrine and the Otome-no-zō Statue are both a short walk away.
Towada Shrine — Lake Towada
- On the Nakayama Peninsula near Yasumiya; accounts differ on its founding — either 807 CE by the commander Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, or by the Buddhist priest Nansōbō after his travel sandals broke on the lakeshore.
- Once considered one of the region's two most sacred sites alongside Osorezan, and a center of ascetic (shugendō) mountain practice.
- A symbol of Tohoku's traditional water-god beliefs; stayed a syncretic Buddhist-Shinto site until the Meiji-era separation of religions (1868–1912).
Otome-no-zō Statue — Lake Towada
- Bronze statue of two facing women, 2.1m tall, on Gozengahama beach — the final completed work of sculptor and poet Takamura Kōtarō, unveiled 1953.
- Commissioned for the 15th anniversary of Lake Towada's national park designation, also honoring three figures tied to the park's history.
- The figures' hands don't quite touch — a deliberate micron-scale gap Takamura left for "spatial tension," not a casting flaw.
Where to eat
Safe bets in Aomori: apple desserts, dengaku tofu, mochi. Avoid seafood bowls, jappa-jiru, and most ramen — dashi is everywhere unless you ask.
See more food options on the trip map ↗Cafe des Gitanes
Self-roasted coffee shop, ~6 min walk from Aomori Station. Coffee-focused — no specific vegetarian dish confirmed from research, check on arrival.
Open in Google Maps ↗Ootoya
Japanese teishoku (set meal) chain, Aomori Hyper Hotel Passage 1F, Shinmachi. Menu spans fish, meat, vegetables, and noodles — ask for a vegetable-based set, since the menu leans fish/meat-heavy overall.
Open in Google Maps ↗Taji
Indian restaurant. Recommended: the ¥999 lunch buffet — 4 curries (keema, chicken, vegetable, green curry), naan, rice, salad, dessert. The vegetable and green curries are good vegetarian bets. ~5 min walk from Aomori Station.
Open in Google Maps ↗Doutor
Nationwide coffee chain — reliable fallback for a quick coffee and a pastry or sandwich. Check the sandwich fillings; most aren't vegetarian by default.
Open in Google Maps ↗Sushi Restaurant ASUKA Shinmachi Store
Sushi restaurant, not vegetarian-oriented — included here for map completeness, not as a vegetarian recommendation.
Open in Google Maps ↗Salon de Café Ange — Hirosaki
Recommended: the apple pie (¥495) — 100% butter crust, made with Tsugaru's "Eikoga" apple variety, available year-round in limited quantity. Worth the stop while at the castle.
Open in Google Maps ↗Cafe Kita-no-kuruwa — Hirosaki
Self-order counter inside the castle grounds — local monaka wafer cakes, an apple pie tasting set, pizza-style light meals, curry, toast, coffee. Castle admission covers entry to this area (covered by the Hirosaki Marugoto Tourist Coupon on this trip). Check the curry's meat content in person.
Open in Google Maps ↗Taishō Roman Tea Room — Hirosaki
Inside the Western-style building at Fujita Memorial Garden. Recommended: choose-your-own apple pie tasting (rotating selection from well-known Hirosaki bakeries) or the buckwheat galette. Also has apple curry, pasta, apple juice, and cream soda — check the curry/pasta for meat content. 90-minute seating limit.
Open in Google Maps ↗Where to shop
See more shopping options on the trip map ↗LOVINA
Aomori Station's own shopping building (the name is short for "Loving Aomori") — ~60 shops across gift/market, fashion, lifestyle, and books/beauty floors. Useful for a last-minute souvenir or something forgotten, without a special trip out.
Open in Google Maps ↗